What was Pontiac thinking with the GTO?

[Detector]

And what happened to Buick? I see it as there being three major contenders when it comes to modern muscle. Ford, Chevy and Dodge. What happened to the GTO? it used to be a major player? I understand that the new GTO packs a pretty good package, but then so does the Subaru WRX. And Buick's 442 and GSX?

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[Rambl3r]

Sad to see the GTO go but it just didn't sell despite its impressive LS1 and LS2 engines. I think the biggest drawback was that it was basically a rebadged Holden Monaro.

 

[Zodiac]

It wasn't basically a rebadged Holden Monaro... it WAS a rebadged Monaro. Nothing wrong with the, Holden built a fantastic car. The Commodore/G8/SS sedan are all great cars.

I love the 2004-2006 GTO's. One of the most comfortable set of seats placed in an automobile as well.

 

[1mic]

It looked boring, just like the chevy SS which will meet the same fate as the GTO, axed.

It had potential to look good, but the designers at GM sucked. Actually they still do, look at the boring chevy SS and new camaro. I would love a chevy SS as a daily tho.

 

[Zodiac]

It looked boring, just like the chevy SS which will meet the same fate as the GTO, axed.

It had potential to look good, but the designers at GM sucked. Actually they still do, look at the boring chevy SS and new camaro. I would love a chevy SS as a daily tho.

I agree the SS looks boring, switch to the holden grill, get rid of the chrome, and change the wheels and it looks 100x better. I would love to pick up a used Jungle Green one in a few years. Then again I owned a G8 GT for 5 years so I may be a bit biased towards it.

 

[ssb]

For a little less boring look, check out the HSV Coupe, particularly the HSV Coupe GTS.
It's still not the most exciting, but it brings the GTO up a notch. Never sold outside Australia though AFAIK.

 

[Zodiac]

I just wish Ford brought the Falcon over here with the Coyote or GM brought over the Wagon variant of the Commodore.

 

[sandpiper]

The second coming of the GTO was a flop, but the car was pretty true to the original. The first GTO was a plain commuter box with a big ass engine. The second GTO was a lot of engine also in a plain wrapper.
The 67 GTO was hot, the second coming, not so much.

 

[tcman54]

It didn't sell because it looked like a Dodge Neon.

Terry

 

[SloSVO]

bland... no trunk, weak IRS.. fail..

 

[Clink]

They looked to me like a glorified Cavalier.

 

[Big Boss]

And what happened to Buick? I see it as there being three major contenders when it comes to modern muscle. Ford, Chevy and Dodge. What happened to the GTO? it used to be a major player? I understand that the new GTO packs a pretty good package, but then so does the Subaru WRX. And Buick's 442 and GSX?

442 Was an Oldsmobile.

And a big reason the GTO failed, was the Mustang. The public had seen that a retro Mustang was coming that recaptured the glory of the Mustang. Then came the GTO which looked nothing like a GTO. It was doomed from the start, despite being a pretty damn good car.

 

[subbz]

442 Was an Oldsmobile.

And a big reason the GTO failed, was the Mustang. The public had seen that a retro Mustang was coming that recaptured the glory of the Mustang. Then came the GTO which looked nothing like a GTO. It was doomed from the start, despite being a pretty damn good car.

I agree. Everyone is actually still on that retro styling hype. If you want a retro car just buy a classic. Great thing about it is that you can pick up a 2006 gto with 400hp starting at 15k. Honestly I still like the styling since it's subtle and unassuming. You can never go wrong with a cheap fast car.

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